A Show of Hands #1

So. Last night, almost six months after actually buying a scanner so I could knock out this lil task, I finally (finally) scanned in A Show of Hands #1 for the edification of all and the glory of posterity. And doesn't it make me cringe! In these pages, you'll find me writing about friendship, feminism, hennaing your hair aaaaaaaand heartbreak. If I was Prince I could claim that ♫I was dreaming when I wrote this♫, but actually I was 21 when I wrote this. It was prepared over 1993 and 1994, and I well remember doing the cut and paste layout sitting on the loungeroom floor of my first home away from home. I inevitably got bits of shaggy carpet caught under the stickytape and in the gluestick, but the feeling I had of *creating* was so exciting. I'll always be thankful for having found out about the medium of zines because it really was life-changing for me, and during my twenties it was a big part of my identity.

This scan was created from the original master, which was so cut and paste that each page is about the thickness of four pieces of paper. In a lot of places you can see my woeful stickytaping job. Clearly I thought the photocopier would hide my ineptitude, but there's no escaping the critical eye of the scanner. Now that I've got the hang of it, I'll be scanning more issues in the near future. So stay tuned, but don't hold your breath either.

Oh yeah, and click on the link below to see this zine in glorious full size, 'cos the image below is just a wee little preview.

A Show of Hands #1

Things to love about Adelaide

Fine vegan eating

Chocolate bean : not strictly vegan but they do have quite a bit of vegan choc action on offer
Chopstix on Rundle : the vegetarian dishes they offer here are really tasty!
Zen house : a stunning vegetarian tea house with fabulous vegan fare

Movie-going

Black cockatoo arthouse : Greg and Sarah run a gorgeous art space with gallery and regular movie nights, and, yes, vegan catering. Good times.
Capri cinema : the best art deco stylee cinema around. Go on a Tuesday, Friday or Saturday night and hear the pipe organs played before the movie.
Mainline drive-in : because who doesn't bloody love a drive-in movie?
Moonlight cinema : summer movies in the Botanic Gardens; gold.
Odeon star : our local favourite. Beautiful cinema, cheapest prices in town. Gorgeous.

Loveable pubs

Semaphore worker's club : my favourite. Great prices, stunning beach views and the best pub decor evah. Managed by the Communist Party of Australia, Port Adelaide division.

You love me! You really love me!

Shit made me go all Gwyneth:

Text from Sam

Special thanks to you, M. I read ur zine this morning; it's great. I laffed, i cried, and it served as the kick up the bum i needed to get me back to the lap top and put down some words i've been meanin to for a while. x

Text from Janna

THANK YOU! for another great zine xx that was a scream! I always look forward to reading your words n they never let me down. Lots of love.

Isn't Simon Gray a kind gentleman?

Hi M,

First cab off the rank on my pile of new zeens was yours. Maybe 'cause we were the last trade of the day? Probably not, this product makes several juggles before hitting my bedside table. (For example, I haven't read any other zeens yet. I also recently picked up some Phantom comics, my first in years & read one of those tonight having plonked them atop the zeens. I'm totally planning a Phantom zeen now, as soon as my brother & I finish our Brady Bunch YouTube magnum opus.)

Don't feel bad for having such a small zeen, as I suspect you do. You're adding to an already impressive litany of zeenery, who reaches #15 issues, really? Uberzeeners, that's who.

& Although I haven't read any other zeens in my pile yet, I've read piles like it before & I can trust that a M zeen is probably gonna outdo others. 'Cause M is a cracker of a writer & may have only one article in her zeen, but that article, if my recent experience was anything to go by, had multiple well written lines that cracked smiles across the countenance of her readership.

& That article alone probably has a higher word count than other entire zeens in the pile. A M zeen is a mark of quality & the only zeenster I bothered to name drop to my table sharing companion, the apparent international superstar of zeens, Dave Roche.

Sincere kudos.

Simon Gray

PS. I don't expect you to have read my zeen yet, don't feel bad upon
reading this e-mail.

Wanna contribute to a zine about shoplifting?

This just in from a zining ladyfriend:

"We have an idea for a zine and we need contributions. We wanna compile a whole heap of stories written by people about their experiences of shoplifting.  

We are keen for anyone to write whatever they like ... contributions can be in the form of poetry, prose, creative writing, a couple of sentences, one or more paragraphs, or a short story (maximum 1,200 words). Content can be anything related to shoplifting ... you watching someone else do it, you doing it, wanting to do it, getting caught, not getting caught, best item, worst item, strategies, the politics of shoplifting, your philosophical motivation for shoplifting, whatever ...

Photos, cartoon, and other artwork on the theme of shoplifting are also welcome.

You can email contributions to clara_tzara@yahoo.com or girlbackwards@gmail.com or post to Clara Tzara, P.O. Box 1 Flaxley, S.A. 5153 anytime until the end of September 2009. Oh, and please advise if you would like to be credited by real name, chosen pseudonmyn, or anonymous."

Format festival and zine fair action

If you're in Adelaide, and you're vaguely interested in independent arts, publishing and zines, then, y'know, the Format festival will probably be your cup of tea. Just sayin'.

Why I love me some Lisa Lee Roth

Lisa sent me this text in September last year and I've been carrying it on my phone all this time 'cos it always makes me smile when I look at it:

So I just re-read your zine on the tram, fantastic handbag travel size reading! It is amazing i want more,more,more! im over the internet&blogs i want my portable zines back!U made me laugh outloud on packed public transport&for that i applaud you.Anywho just had to let you know that i loved it&love you!x

Kind of ironic that I quoted her on a blog, hey?